Column: Not much has changed with the government shutdown

Published 4:40 pm, Saturday, October 12, 2013

We really expected the government to shut down. We thought President Obama would lock the White House doors and go back to Chicago. We thought Congress would lock up and go home.

Have you really noticed any changes with the government shutdown? It just doesn’t have the feel of a real crisis. Now we all know that if this mess continues over a long period of time, we will have a crisis on our hands. But now, hardly anyone notices.

Oh, you may have had some vacation plans interrupted since national parks are closed. But government is paying Social Security and Medicare is still allowing hospital care. In fact, I saw on TV the other day that government is still spending more than it takes in every day.

The fact is, not much has changed. The American public wants to know if Washington is crying wolf or if we should really be concerned.

The stock market is not showing any signs of panic. It may be down a bit, but nothing on a scale that suggests a crisis. No one is jumping off tall buildings in the heart of Wall Street. It seems like America is on cruise control until someone can figure out a path out of this quagmire we have placed ourselves in.

But the shutdown is teaching us some important lessons. I really hope young people are paying attention. It’s one of the greatest history lessons in our lifetime. And we are here to observe it.

Of course, we first learn that government never really shuts down.

Government can print money and continue to work even though there is no money. It’s an important fact for young people to learn because they can’t print money for their own business. They really have to shut the doors and go home when they can’t pay the bills.

Young people need to know that government doesn’t live by the same rules as those in private enterprise. That’s actually a hard lesson to learn, and the proof is that millions of Americans think they can live in deep debt like the government.

I hope the young people are listening. When all is said and done, the young will ultimately get less from government while government continues to build up massive debt. Government is on track to spend more money and less of it will return to those now working.

Another thing we have learned is that many government jobs are basically “non-essential.” I feel sorry for the thousands of government employees who have been labeled non-essential. How would you like it if someone told you that your job is non-essential? That also brings up another aspect of government. If 700,000 government jobs are being classified as non-essential, why do we have them in the first place? Do we have that many people in government where their only job is to turn on the lights in the morning and then turn them off at night? Why can’t the first one in that morning turn on the lights and the last one to leave turn them off?

But don’t get carried away with the essential and non-essential tags. Actually, some of us think the light-switch job may be more essential in government than those who make policy. Now that’s a thought you should consider.

Since our president has anxiety attacks when asked to talk with a Republican, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if we gathered some of the best businessmen in the country and placed them behind closed doors for a few days to see what kind of solution we would have to the shutdown and the debt-ceiling problems.

Now Playing:

Now that’s another thought you should consider.

Thought for the Week: “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” -- Winston Churchill.